1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a female electrical terminal which requires a low insertion force for a mating male terminal to be fitted therein.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional female electrical terminal 80, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, has a box-shaped electrical contact section 82 for insertion therein of a male terminal 81 and a cable connection section 83 at which a cable (not shown) is solderlessly attached, the electrical contact section 82 being internally provided with a resilient contact member 84 for electrical connection with the male terminal 81.
The resilient contact member 84 is, at its front and rear ends 84a and 84b (FIG. 7), lockedly engaged on a bottom wall 85 of the electrical contact section 82 to provide between the front and rear ends 84a, 84b a raised central contact portion 84c for the male terminal 81. When inserted into the electrical contact section 82, the male terminal 81 is squeezed between a ceiling wall of the electrical contact section 82 and the resilient contact member 84 to be electrically connected with the electrical contact section 82.
In order to enable the male terminal 81 to be inserted into the female terminal 80 with a low insertion force, if the deflection A (FIG. 7) within which the resilient contact member 84 is deflectable is made small, it requires accurate dimensions inside the electrical contact section 82, resulting in difficult designing. If the wall thickness B of the entire resilient contact member 84 is thinned (FIGS. 7 and 8), it also requires accurate dimensions for preventing lowering of the contact pressure between the male terminal 81 and the contact portion 84c, resulting in difficult designing. Likewise, if the wall width C of the resilient contact member 84 and thus of the contact portion 84c is made small (FIG. 9), it causes an unstable contact between the male terminal 81 and the contact portion 84c. Further, if the structure of the resilient contact member 84 itself is changed, it requires a renewed designing from the beginning, resulting in a cost increase. Generally, the more the reduction is made in the force required for inserting the male terminal 81, the more the contact between the male terminal 81 and the resilient contact member 84 becomes unstable, and the more the contact is made stable, the less the reduction can be made in the insertion force of the male terminal 81.